Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

We are planning to leave early tomorrow.

Breakdown of Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

• wij: we
• morgen: tomorrow
• om: for
• vroeg: early
• vertrekken: to leave
• van plan zijn: to plan

Questions & Answers about Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

Why do we say wij instead of we here? Are both possible?

Both wij and we mean we in English.

• wij is the stressed form – you use it when you want to emphasize we (and not someone else), or in careful / written language.
• we is the unstressed form – it’s what you’ll hear most often in normal spoken Dutch.

In this sentence you could also say:

• We zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

That’s perfectly correct and sounds a bit more natural in everyday speech. The version with wij sounds slightly more emphatic or a bit more formal/written.

What does the expression van plan zijn literally mean, and how is it used?

Literally, van plan zijn means to be of plan. Idiomatically it means to be planning to / to intend to.

Pattern:

• [Subject] + zijn + van plan (om) + te + infinitive

Examples:

• Ik ben van plan om Nederlands te leren. – I’m planning to learn Dutch.
• We zijn van plan te verhuizen. – We intend to move.

So Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken is the usual, idiomatic way to say We are planning to leave early tomorrow.

Why do we need om before morgen vroeg te vertrekken? Could we leave it out?

The om ... te construction is a common way to introduce an infinitive clause in Dutch: om + te + infinitive.

In this sentence:

• om = a linker, similar in function to “in order to / to”
• te vertrekken = to leave

So om morgen vroeg te vertrekken literally feels like “in order to leave early tomorrow”.

With van plan zijn, om is often used but not strictly required:

• Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.
• Wij zijn van plan morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

Both are acceptable in modern Dutch. Including om is slightly more formal / careful; leaving it out sounds a bit more direct and is also very common.

What is the function of te in te vertrekken?

te is an infinitive marker. It’s used before a verb in certain constructions, somewhat like “to” in English.

Compare:

• English: to leave
• Dutch: te vertrekken

You see te + infinitive after many verbs and expressions, for example:

• proberen te helpen – to try to help
• beslissen te blijven – to decide to stay
• van plan zijn te vertrekken – to be planning to leave

You cannot drop te in this structure; om morgen vroeg vertrekken would be wrong.

Why is the verb vertrekken at the end of the sentence?

Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second rule:

1. One conjugated verb (here zijn) must be in the second position:

   • Wij (1st position – subject)
   • zijn (2nd position – finite verb)

2. Other verb forms (infinitives, past participles, modal verbs) move to the end of the clause:

   • ... om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

So the structure is:

• [Subject] – [finite verb] – (other elements) – [infinitive]

That’s why vertrekken comes at the end.

Can I say Wij plannen om morgen vroeg te vertrekken instead?

You can say Wij plannen om morgen vroeg te vertrekken, and people will understand you, but it does not sound as natural as Wij zijn van plan om....

In Dutch, plannen is used more for concrete, schedulable things:

• We plannen de vergadering om 10 uur. – We schedule / plan the meeting at 10.
• We hebben onze vakantie al gepland. – We’ve already planned our holiday.

To express a personal intention (“we’re intending to / planning to do something”), Dutch much more often uses:

• van plan zijn
  
  • We zijn van plan morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

So for this meaning, Wij zijn van plan... is the idiomatic choice.

Is morgen vroeg the same as vroeg morgen or morgenvroeg?

• morgen vroeg = early tomorrow (morning)
  This is the normal, standard order in Dutch.

• vroeg morgen is not idiomatic in this context; you don’t normally say it that way in a sentence like this.

• morgenvroeg (one word) also exists and means the same as morgen vroeg.
  It’s common, especially in Belgian Dutch, but morgen vroeg is safe and standard everywhere.

So in this sentence, the natural options are:

• Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.
• Wij zijn van plan om morgenvroeg te vertrekken.

Can I move morgen vroeg to another place in the sentence?

Yes, time expressions are quite flexible in Dutch. These are all correct:

• Morgen vroeg zijn wij van plan om te vertrekken.
• Wij zijn morgen vroeg van plan om te vertrekken. (less common; splits the expression)
• Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken. (most natural)
• Wij zijn van plan morgen vroeg te vertrekken. (without om, also fine)

Most natural is to keep morgen vroeg right before te vertrekken, as in the original.

Is Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken formal, informal, or neutral?

The sentence is neutral in tone. You can use it:

• in spoken language
• in emails
• in fairly informal or semi-formal situations

It’s not slangy, and not very stiff or official either. If you wanted something more casual in speech, you might say:

• We gaan morgen vroeg weg. – We’re leaving early tomorrow.

But Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken is perfectly fine almost anywhere.

Is there a difference between vertrekken and weggaan here?

Both vertrekken and weggaan can mean to leave, but there is a nuance:

• vertrekken

  • slightly more neutral/formal
  • often used for leaving a place, especially in travel contexts: trains, buses, trips, etc.
  • De trein vertrekt om acht uur.

• weggaan

  • more colloquial
  • literally “to go away”, to leave a place or situation
  • We gaan morgen vroeg weg.

In this sentence, using vertrekken sounds a bit more neutral and fits very well with van plan zijn. You could say:

• Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg weg te gaan.

That’s also correct, just slightly more informal in feel.

Could I just say Wij vertrekken morgen vroeg? Does it mean the same?

Yes, you can say:

• Wij vertrekken morgen vroeg. – We are leaving early tomorrow.

This has almost the same basic meaning, but:

• Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken. emphasizes the plan / intention.
• Wij vertrekken morgen vroeg. states it more as a fact / arrangement.

In many contexts, both would be understood the same, but the original sentence highlights that this is your plan.

Can I leave out om and te and say Wij zijn van plan morgen vroeg vertrekken?

No, that’s incorrect in standard Dutch.

After van plan zijn, the infinitive verb needs te, and usually you also include om (though om can be omitted):

Correct options:

• Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken.
• Wij zijn van plan morgen vroeg te vertrekken.

But you cannot drop te:

• ✗ Wij zijn van plan morgen vroeg vertrekken. (wrong)

What tense is zijn here? Why not the future tense?

zijn is in the present tense: wij zijn = we are.

Dutch often uses the present tense + an expression of intention (like van plan zijn) to talk about the future, similar to English “We are planning to…” or “We are going to…”.

You don’t need a special future tense here. Dutch does have zullen (like will), but you wouldn’t normally say:

• ✗ Wij zullen van plan zijn om morgen vroeg te vertrekken. (unnatural)

Instead, use:

• Wij zijn van plan om morgen vroeg te vertrekken. – We’re planning to leave early tomorrow.